I am suggesting the rebuilding of the defense enjoys accelerated status, and that 2008 looks as if it could see the Saints having a chance at winning the NFC South.
This supposition, after a 24-20 opening victory over the Tampa Bay Bucs on Sunday in the Superdome, might constitute getting carried away to some. But it no longer seems so bizarre as to be the kind of getting carried away that would involve men in white coats and a padded room.
The victory over rival TampaBay concluded a hectic week that saw the Saints practice for their opening game in Indianapolis and produced a win an emotional, see-saw game before a packed and rollicking crowd.
"This was a heck of a game," said Saints coach Sean Payton. "It went back and forth and both teams were throwing punches and making the other respond. It was a big win for us because it was at home in front of a crowd that needed something to cheer about after a tough week, and against a team that beat the Saints twice last year and won the division."
Gustav had passed, and Who Dats were still returning from what was one of the largest evacuations in American history.
Here's Bucs coach Jon Gruden's take on the game: "We fought hard, but give credit to the Saints. They are a very good team."
Gruden credited the Saints' defensive front for causing some chaos throughout the game as well. "We pass protected pretty well," said the coach. "We threw the ball 20 times or so.. They've got Sedrick Ellis. He is the real deal. Charles Grant and Will Smith are factors. Bobby McCray is a hell of a pass rusher. They beefed it up there. Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton deserve a lot of credit. They will be handful for everybody this year."
"It was a great way to start the season off," said Drew Brees, who had a passer rating of 124.9 by throwing for three touchdowns and 343 yards. "Coming off w week where everybody was displaced form their homes, and coming back in full force -- it was awesome."
The Bucs had a shot to win the brutally physical game until linebacker Scott Fujita intercepted a Jeff Garcia pass just inside the Saints 20-yard line with about 40 seconds to go.
"I lost track of where the linebacker was," said Garcia. "If I had it all to do over again I would have thrown it to another receiver."
Brees' touchdown passes went for 39 yards to very veteran David Patten, 84 yards to Devery Henderson and 42 yards to Reggie Bush, who had 163 total yards (112 receiving and 51 rushing).
Bush lived up to his hype in this game and the investigation on whether he left his talent at USC will be delayed.
"I don't know who critiques Reggie with having poor seasons," said Payton. "He had one of the best seasons in the league two years ago. He's one of the best."
Bush said he was most pleased with the entire team effort. "Every guy in the locker room, from the guys who have been here the past few years, to the new guys like Jon Vilma, Sedrick Ellis, Jeremy Shockey, all left everything on the field. It was a total team effort."
Bush, who promised to come back strong a from a down second season, did most of the work on the Saints' second drive, starting with a 29-yard gain on a short catch over the middle. His touchdown came on a third-down swing pass on which he juked Jermaine Phillips at the 25 and stiff-armed Philip Buchanon at the 5 before diving for the pylon. Bush was close to stepping out of bounds, but the Bucs didn't challenge the call.
Phillips had been in Bush's face before the touchdown.
Shockey, who sat out the Saints' four exhibition games, introduced himself to Brees and the Who Dats with a tough 10-yard catch on third down while the crowd chanted "Shockey, Shockey!." He finished with 6 catches for 54 yards.
Henderson's touchdown catch was a career-long for him and came after Brees had drawn the Bucs offside. Henderson was wide open after veteran Ronde Barber fell down. Henderson held the ball in the air as he raced down the sidelines. His hands aren't the best, he should avoid such gestures in the future.
New cornerbacks Randall Gay and Tracy Porter enjoyed good games while the team's best corner, Mike McKenzie, was inactive for the game as well as Deuce McAllister.
Porter, the team's second-round draft choice, broke up two passes and Gay had one of veteran Joey Galloway, who always plays his best against the Saints. Porter also got his hand on a third-down pass into the end zone for Antonio Bryant late in the third quarter with the game tied at 10.
Vilma, obtained in an offseason trade with the Jets, had a team-high 9 tackles and was all over the field. He said it was exciting to finish a game with their much-maligned defense on the field. "That was the exciting part," said the former Jet. "With all the talk about the defense being questionable, it was great for us.
"This gives us a boost because we knew we could play great defense/ It was exciting to be able to show everybody that we can get it done."
Martin Gramatica even the scored at 10 when he kicked a 34-yard field goal.
The Bucs punted on seven of their first eight possessions, went zero for their first r\eight times on third down. That's a defense we didn't see often last season.
Gay and Randall came up with timely breakups throughout the game. Ellis provided a consistent push up the middle. McCray sacked Garcia after he drove the Bucs deep into Saints territory in the final two minutes. It appears that Grant is back to his 2006 form. Veteran corner Aaron Glenn covered well.
Twelve players that were not on the Saints' final roster in 2007 were on the team's active 45 for Sunday's game, a percentage of 27 per cent. The newcomers include" QB Mark Brunell, Gay, Porter, Glenn, McAllister, Vilma, LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar, G/T Carl Nicks, Shockey, McCray, TE Mark Campbell and Ellis.
Next up for the Saints are winnable games against Washington, Denver and San Francisco. 4-0?
And away we go.
SOME HITHER, OTHERS YON: "I compare him to Bo Jackson," is how Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe describes Ryan Perrilloux's football talents. "They come along every 25 years." Perrilloux led JSU on five scoring drives in a 45-18 victory over Alabama A&M last Saturday. Perrilloux played the first half and completed 11 of 17 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. He carried 6 times for 35 yards...Tulane ex Matt Forte rushed 23 times for 123 yards, including a 50-yard TD dash, in the Bears' 29-13 victory over the Colts on Sunday...Former Bears running back Cedrick Benson said he's had a workout with the Saints and that it went well. He believes teams are waiting for his legal matters to be cleaned up before signing him...Former Saints running back Ricky Williams has done a lot most players haven't: won a Heisman Trophy, led the NFL in rushing, lived in a tent in Australia. According to the Miami Herald, now add something else: Williams said he negotiated his own contract extension with Bill Parcells in less than 10 minutes. Williams said he did the deal himself because he could not reach agent Leigh Steinberg, who has allowed his agent certification to expire temporarily...
Trivia time: Name the only two hurricanes to hit the coasts of the U.S. with a category 5 rating (answer below)...Bernie Lincicome of the Rockey Mountain News keeps a close eye on politicians, so it came as no surprise that he had a take on former sportscaster Sarah Palin's vice presidential nomination. "it could only be worse if she had been a sportswriter," wrote Lincicome, "because then she would not have known how to dress."...Name of the week: Bills cornerback Reggie Corner, a corner...LSU ex Matt Flynn is ahead of Brian Brohm on the Packers' depth chart at quarterback. Now the Packers must decide if they are comfortable with the former Tiger being a heartbeat away from replacing Aaron Rodgers on a playoff team...The NBA's newest old team has made it official and said it would be called the Oklahoma City Thunder...Bucs center Jeff Faine said that the biggest downfall for the Saints last year was losing Deuce McAllister. "We didn't have that power running game without him," said the former Saint. Reggie Bush is a special player, but you can't replace Deuce between the tackles." Sean Payton said he sees Deuce's mobility coming back...Trivia time answer: Camille and the hurricane that the the Florida Keys in 1935...Ed Staton can be reached at edcoachstaton@yahoo.com.
Wait! These Las Vegas pointspreads just came in for this weekend's games:
